RSVP for Mickey Gitzin NIForum - Sydney

NIF Australia is pleased to invite you to an evening 20s and 30s NIForum event in Sydney with special guestMickey Gitzinfrom freedom of religion and pluralism organisation Israel Hofshit

"The people, demanding everything, got nothing - Ha'am doresh tzedek chevrati - The people demand social justice, was the catch cry of 2011's social justice protest movement. The tent protests galvanised the entire Jewish world, but what's been achieved in the two years since? Mickey Gitzin, discusses his organisation's post-protest movement focus -- the separation of religion and state, and the end of the Ultra-Orthodox rabbinate monopoly -- and their successes and ongoing challenges."

Mickey Gitzin is the executive director of Israel Hofshit (“Be Free Israel”), the leading grassroots organisation in Israel dedicated to promoting freedom of religion and pluralism as core democratic values.

Created in 2009, Israel Hofshit believes that all forms of belief and practice among Jewish people are legitimate and should be accepted and supported by the state of Israel and that doing so enhances democratic values, which are critical to the success of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.

Previously, Mickey was the spokesperson for MK Ilan Gilon (Meretz), and worked as the Associate Director of "Festival Beshekel" an Israeli non-profit, which works to develop avenues for cultural and artistic expression in the periphery of Israel. After completing his military service as an Intelligence Officer at the IDF, Mickey served as an Emissary (Shaliach) for the Jewish Agency for Israel under the auspice of the Jewish Federation of South Band, Indiana.

Israel Hofshit aims to:

To achieve the right to a civil marriage for all Israel’s citizens

To eliminate gender segregation on public transport and in public spaces

To gain state recognition for Reform and Conservative conversions and weddings

To provide equal opportunity for Jewish prayer at the Western Wall to women and non-Orthodox Jews

To end the Rabbinate’s discrimination against women with regard to divorce

To end segregation of Ashkenazi, Mizrahi (Sephardic & Middle Eastern) and Ethiopian students within religious schools

To end the exemptions, provided to state religious schools, from teaching the core curriculum (basic math, science, English and civics) in the hope that higher numbers of ultra-Orthodox will be achieve gainful employment and the enormous percentage living on welfare will be reduced.

We're very grateful for Limmud-Oz for bringing out Mickey to Australia with us.

The New Israel Fund Australia Foundation is a leading organisation committed to social justice, human rights and democracy in Israel. We work with Israelis experiencing poverty, discrimination and injustice to create a more inclusive, tolerant and equal society. Based on the vision of the country’s founders, we work towards an Israel that is “based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel… [and] complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex.”